Syracuse Common Councilor Khalid Bey said councilors are trying to forge a less controversial version of the "Ban the Box" law proposed two weeks ago. Tim Knauss | tknauss@syracuse.com

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- The sponsors of proposed city legislation designed to improve employment opportunities for ex-convicts have temporarily pulled back the measure to allow more time for discussion with business leaders, community members and others.

Common councilors Jean Kessner and Khalid Bey said they still intend to push for so-called “Ban the Box’’ legislation, but they will take more time to gather input in hopes of drafting a less divisive version of the law. In the meantime, the council has cancelled two committee meetings that were scheduled Tuesday to hear public comments.

Bey, who represents the city’s fourth council district, said there would be little value in discussing the legislation now because it will likely change. “There is no final product,’’ he said.

The Syracuse Anti-discrimination and Fair Employment Act, as first proposed, would require employers in Syracuse to avoid asking job applicants whether they have criminal convictions until after an employer makes a tentative job offer to an applicant. The intent, supporters said, was to give applicants a chance for an interview before the employer does a criminal background check.

Councilor-at-Large Jean Kessner said the council needs more time to compose a "Ban the Box" law.Tim Knauss | tknauss@syracuse.com

Some business leaders recoiled when Kessner and Bey first introduced the legislation three weeks ago, calling it bureaucratic and saying it would hurt efforts to recruit new businesses to town. The preliminary legislation was largely based on a similar law from a city in New Jersey, and was intended only to be a starting point, Kessner said.

Rob Simpson, president of CenterState CEO, a local business development group, was among the most outspoken critics of the proposal. The Center for Community Alternatives, which has programs to help ex-convicts try to find employment and rejoin the community, said the proposed legislation would merely help employers avoid unlawful discrimination.

Representatives from those groups met Friday to discuss the measure. Bey said he will meet later today with Simpson. “I will continue in my efforts to get people to compromise,’’ he said. “It’s certainly not my intent to shove anything down anybody’s throat.’’